N-deal: US caves in to India's demand

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In a major boost for India, the United States has acted on India's concerns and circulated a draft exemption text to the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG). India raised concerns over a paragraph in the draft, but officials from both the countries took the easy way out and deleted the offending paragraph.

Objection was raised by India over a line in the draft which referred to a crucial paragraph in the NSG guidelines. The paragraph highlighted that supplier countries have to push the recipient to accept the full-scope or comprehensive safeguards.

The all important draft read as “participating governments (to) transfer trigger list items and/or related technology to the safeguarded civil nuclear facilities in India... as long as the participating government intending to make the transfer is satisfied that India continues to fully meet all of the aforementioned non-proliferation and safeguards commitments”.

However, India argued that the guidelines apply to non-nuclear weapons state and India did not fall into that category. These objections were clarified by DAE Chief Anil Kakodkar, after the IAEA vote. In a statement he said, "India is not a non-nuclear weapon state. NSG guidelines are essentially meant for non-nuclear weapons states. Now, while India will maintain its responsible behaviour all along, we will expect the world community to also treat us the way we are."

He added, "The NSG, which has comprehensive safeguards agreement as a condition for supply, is clearly not applicable in the case of India because India has its own strategic programme and it is this that has to be waived. They have to treat India as India is.”

The NSG, chaired currently by Germany, will take a decision on exemption in the draft formulated when it meets on August 21-22. Acceptance of this condition will nullify the special safeguards agreement India has just concluded with the IAEA.
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US pushes Japan, NSG to approve India waiver
Facing a "tight timetable", the US on Friday (August 8) pushed a reluctant Japan and other members of the NSG to agree to a waiver for India "expeditiously" for enabling the Indo-US nuclear deal, saying the accord will be a "practical way" of engaging New Delhi on non-proliferation.

"The question we're dealing with now is what's the best way to get more convergence between what we do within the non-proliferation treaty and what India does outside," US Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher told reporters, adding that India has made it "very clear" that signing NPT "is not on the cards."

Asked about the possibility of the deal taking effect before President George W. Bush's term ends in January next year, he said: "It is a tight timetable. "We are asking... the Nuclear Suppliers Group to move expeditiously. We hope that will happen," Boucher was quoted as saying by Kyodo news agency.

Boucher also dismissed concerns that the agreement with India may open up an opportunity for Pakistan to seek a similar deal. "India has a long and very solid record of nonproliferation, controlling exports, and a responsible international behavior in that regard," he said.

"So it was considered as an arrangement that worked with regard to India, not as some kind of model for other countries." Boucher especially pushed Japan, which is among the 45 NSG members, to agree to a waiver for India.

"We do understand that Japan's going to have questions and issues that they want to raise," Boucher said, but "the bottom line for us is this is the way to get the cooperation we want, this is the way to get the support for non-proliferation."

Japanese Foreign Minister Masshiko Koumura had during a visit to New Delhi this week remained non-committal on his country's support saying, Tokyo needed to be convinced that the deal will not undermine non-proliferation efforts. He also pressed India to sign NPT and Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.

The Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency adopted on August 1 by consensus a safeguards agreement for India, a key step for initiating civilian nuclear cooperation with New Delhi under the deal. The US will be seeking a waiver from the NSG, comprising countries which export nuclear material and technology, on August 21 before the deal is sent to Congress for ratification.

Japan has, however, expressed its understanding on the use of atomic energy for peaceful purposes and had joined consensus to support the India-specific safeguards agreement at the IAEA Board of Governors.

Switzerland unlikely to block waiver at NSG

Despite its strong views on non-proliferation issues, Switzerland is unlikely to block the waiver for India at the NSG meet even as it officially says it is yet to firm up its stand on the matter. witzerland's Ambassador to India Dominique Dreyer on Friday (August 8) said that his government understands the "importance of the nuclear energy" for India's economic growth but has not yet decided its position for a NSG waiver to New Delhi.

"Government of Switzerland is very much in favour of India developing nuclear energy but Switzerland is also concerned about problem of non-proliferation," he said. Switzerland along with New Zealand, Austria, Ireland and are seen as the difficult countries at the NSG as all the four countries insist that such an exemption should not be given to a country which is not a member of the NPT.

The stand of the Switzerland will be crucial at the August 21-22 meeting of NSG which works by consensus and opposition by even one country could hamper India's prospects of having trade with international community in nuclear field.

Notwithstanding the Swiss reservations, sources said the country is unlikely to pose problems for India at the upcoming meeting of the 45-nation grouping. Asked why some countries including Switzerland have reservations about the deal when IAEA approved the India-specific safeguards pact with concensus, Dreyer said there are "some problems with certain clauses" in the Indo-US nuclear agreement.

"The nuclear deal is very important for India. No country is opposing it. These countries are having problems with some clauses in the agreement," he said. India, in association with the US, is making efforts to garner support of the NSG countries.

The US has launched a major campaign to muster support of the NSG countries, with President George W Bush himself sending letters to various countries in this regard. The Bush administration has also directed its envoys in 45-member countries of NSG to keep talking to the host governments to muster support, the sources said. India, on its part, has also deputed some of its ministers and senior officials to various countries to lobby support.

Both Washington and New Delhi are telling the NSG countries that India's entry into the nuclear mainstream will strengthen the non-proliferation system rather than weakening it as apprehended by some nations. The India-specific safeguards agreement was approved by the Board of Governors of the IAEA on August one by consensus.

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